Friday, August 5, 2011

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It was five years ago and I had just viewed the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie for the twenty-seventh time, my husband again telling me I should get off the sofa and write something. He said, "Write anything, just start and keep at it. I tell you this because I love you; also because you're starting to resemble Cartman from SouthPark." We've been married a long time.

So, employing some sort of hoist device we got me up and mobile again. My legs were wobbly but my mission was clear. I began to write. And what better subject could I find to write about but my favorite book and my favorite movie and my favorite mini-series, my gorgeous Darcys and my beloved Fitzwilliam.

It was intimidating to inform unsuspecting family, friends, and all the acquaintances I had ever made in my life that I had written a book, and not only written a whole book with lots and lots of pages, but that someone was crazy enough to publish it for me. I finally told my first person. "I wrote a book and it's going to be published." Friends stared at me as if I had informed them of my abduction by space aliens and safe return. "Uh-huh." After that I got bolder and more insistent. "No really. Listen to me. I wrote a book. It's going to be published." People began to walk away, then run.

My favorite reaction was from an acquaintance of my husband's. This is absolutely true and almost verbatim. We met the man at a Subway restaurant we frequent. My husband said, "Karen wrote a book.”

"Oh.That’s real nice. What's it called?"

"Darcy and Fitzwilliam - a Tale of a Gentleman and an Officer."

"Uh-huh. Yeah.Oh, look at the time.Gotta go." He stood quickly, hoping to escape...er...leave. I grabbed his arm.

"It's a sequel to Pride and Prejudice," Desperate now, I was trying to convince him, everyone, that I wasn’t crazy.

"Pride and Prejudice? Sure.Oh yeah, I saw the movie. Didn't like it."

I wasn't surprised. The man was a retired Chicago cop. A tough guy.Not one who would enjoy a chick flick.

"Yeah. They kept draggin' that cannon all over the place. Stupid movie."

I was now confused. Mrs. Bennet was a little batty, but she wasn't lethal. "Cannon?"

"Yeah. This cannon they were draggin' around. Frank Sinatra was in it, the movie I mean, not the cannon, and Sofia Loren and that other guy, Cary Grant."

"No. That wasn't 'Pride and Prejudice'. That was 'The Pride and the Passion."

"Yeah, that's what I said."

My husband signaled with his eyebrows to let it lie.

Our friend continued. "So you wrote a book? My neighbor wrote a book too. Yeah, barely made a dime out of it. I guess anyone can write a book these days."

My husband and I both blinked rapidly.

"I guess they can." I said.

My Official Darcy and Fitzwilliam Video

and Decoder Ring

Following is an excerpt from "Darcy and Fitzwilliam" and from "Georgiana's Story" Enjoy and then leave a comment to win a copy of Darcy and Fitzwilliam. Thanks!

113 comments:

I bought your book and look forward to reading it. I have to admit, even if I hadn't known that you were a talented author, I would have purchased it for the cover alone (I never claimed to be deep). I'm looking forward to more of your wicked humor (it's there, isn't it?)

Well, folks, I've read the book, got an advanced copy. Not from the author, mind you, because she's cheap, but Amazon sent the pre-sale books out early.

It's a very nice book. Oh, I can do better than that - it's riotously funny, then swoops into real human pathos that made me weep. *shakes fist at author*

If you don't win the book, then buy one. It's worth the $$ just to get a glimpse of Lady Catherine. She almost steals the show, crazy old woman. Another reason to get a copy of this book is so Richie doesn't have to stand in the Safeway parking lot on Saturdays, hawking books from the car trunk. (xo to Mr. W)

You truly won't be sorry you read this book, will want a first edition before it becomes a classic. It's one of my faves! Lucy&Parker give it two tails up.

I bet if I told my family and friends that I had written a book and it was being published, I'd probably get a similar response. Great post, I laughed out loud several times. I'd love to read Darcy and Fitzwilliam, thanks for the opportunity to win a copy!

Thanks everyone for such a nice response! Don't forget the Austenesque Extravaganza - they are featuring Austen authors. My blog tomorrow will be -THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF DERBYSHIRE COUNTY, moderated by Sir David Frost with the unwanted help of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Now that Lucy P, is safely back in restraints, the riots in front of Safeway have been quelled, & the dust has settled, Karen, your post remains point-on, hysterically, funny, & only too true of human nature. If they only knew the craft required for a single viable paragraph, let alone published work. Kudos, to you Karen, & to your husband for encouraging you! And the video rocks!Best wishes and thanks for a chance to win this fantabulous giveaway!Chanticlear1(AT)gmail(DOT)com

I love this book and would be so happy if I won a copy! You write the most hilarious Lady Catherine ever, and the relationships portrayed - between Darcy and Richard, Darcy and Lizzy, Richard and Amanda, and Lady Cat and her "boys" - made me laugh and cry. I also enjoyed the follow up stories on DWG and very much look forward to reading Georgiana's story.

ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA REGISTER

REVIEW BY DEE SWIFT OF DARCY AND FITZWILLIAM

Darcy and Fitzwilliam by Karen Wasylowski

I am not a particularly fanatical Austen fan, certainly not a purist, but I do like the wit of Jane Austen, and so was ready to embrace the tale of Darcy and his cousin with open arms. I was not disappointed. What impressed me most about this book was that it was the feel of Austen, but updated. It is very difficult to be funny in an Austen-esque way and still be fresh. Too often the humour doesn't properly succeed. But the impact that Austen must have had in her day is all here, in this laugh-out-loud romp through Darcy's post wedding adventures, and those of his irrepressible "brother".

I was unprepared for just how funny the book would be. The scene where Lizzie is giving birth, with Amanda's small, curious, stiffly-educated son looking on, is hilarious, and had my husband wondering why I was laughing so much. Even the servants have been wittily expanded, and the book is funny because it is so well-observed. It pokes fun at regency attitudes to women, and gently lampoons the mores and morals of the time. There is also a sense in which the English themselves are satirized, and this is refreshing, but not at all offensive.

After the initial forty or so pages of set-up the book fairly sweeps along with misunderstandings aplenty, and it is no slight volume. The characters have to be impeccably constructed for the situation comedy to work, and Karen Wasylowski has done this thoroughly, also the research on her period and The Peninsula War gives the reader just the right amount of setting.A great read, that works whether you have read any Austen or not.

REVIEWS FOR

DARCY AND FITZWILLIAM

AS SEEN IN BOTH
JANE AUSTEN'S WORLD AND IN
JANE AUSTEN TODAY

February 7, 2011

"It's intoxicating.

It's absorbing.

It's excellent..."

THE CALICO CRITIC

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Karen Wasylowski has done a fine job with these Austenian characters. She has stayed true to the original vision of their temperaments, yet brings new aspects of who they are to light. Their witty repartee is always fun, as they regularly jab at each other in non-cynical brotherly ways. Darcy and the Colonel passionately love their women, sometimes going to extremes to protect them and those they love. There is much drama in this narrative, although it doesn’t cross over into melodrama in the least.

There was more than one night when I had trouble putting the book down to go to bed!Being the men who they are, there are a few moments that are a bit PG-13 as far as language and sexual content. I mention this only for those who are particular about these issues or are considering this for young readers. Most of the bedroom material is within the confines of marriage, and Wasylowski doesn’t go overboard with frequent gratuitous moments of intimacy or colorful tirades.

Thank heavens this isn’t some tawdry bodice-ripper with blue dialog every other minute.

Darcy and Fitzwilliam was an enjoyable read. Karen provides a epilogue that occurs decades after the main story, and I think she could easily draft a sequel in the future. I readily enjoyed her treatment of these characters and hope she continues to revisit this world. Her work is page turning, humorous, maddening (Caroline!!) and touching.

This is a fine edition to the ever-growing library of Austenesque novels. It’s definitely a “bromance” worth an Austen fan’s consideration.

LINDA BANCHE REVIEW

Review: DARCY AND FITZWILLIAM: A TALE OF A GENTLEMAN AND AN OFFICER by Karen V. Wasylowski

Laugh until your sides ache and then laugh some more with Karen V. Wasylowski's delicious Darcy and Fitzwilliam: A Tale of a Gentleman and an Officer. This absorbing, fast-moving romp of a book catalogues the often hilarious ups and downs in the enduring affectionate friendship of those brothers-in-spirit, cousins Fitzwilliam Darcy and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.

I read this entire 481 page book in one day, laughing all the way. Ms. Wasylowski has a good ear for realistic male banter, most of it uproariously funny. The best two lines in the whole novel occur when Darcy and Fitzwilliam reminisce about their youth and the hilariously disgusting things young boys do to each other. I still laugh when I think of those lines.A truly wonderful and original take on Pride and Prejudice. I can't wait for Ms. Wasylowski's next book.

JANE AUSTEN EXAMINER

This book was a delight to read. I found the character development of Colonel Fitzwilliam particularly fascinating. Men who have seen war, especially at the grand level Wasylowski has laid out her Fitzwilliam, are hardly ever unaffected. Her portrayal of his issues and struggles are heartfelt and poignant.

It was a little heart-wrenching for me to read about Darcy’s past lover and for Elizabeth to have to deal with the reality of marrying an older man more experienced than her. I was almost angry at the author at first, but I realized what a great job she did of involving me in the storyline. I was fairly sucked in.

HISTORICAL BOOKS REVIEW

Pride and Prejudice has given contemporary writers of historical fiction an endless source of ideas. Many of these novels of possibilities are very good and honor the original classic, while others are wastebasket material. Karen V. Wasylowski has turned out one of the former, a charming and believable rendering that offers the reader a look at the men in Pride and Prejudice. Austen would no doubt welcome Darcy and Fitzwilliam, an amusing and witty interpretation.

SUITE101.C0M Review

Jane Austen Books Get a Dose of Karen V. Wasylowski

Though this is only Karen V. Wasylowski's first book, it is safe to say this author has found her voice in sequels to Jane Austen classics. One of the better additions being Karen V. Wasylowski's wit and humor. I never expected to laugh so hard as I did with Darcy and Fitzwilliam. The storyline was so engaging, the plot so thick with intensity and literary genius that I was immediately roped into the novel and ultimately emotionally invested in its outcome.